The Foundation of Successful YouTube Marketing

Before you invest one cent in video and editing equipment, identify who will be watching your videos and who you want to watch your videos. What type of content will you produce? And how will your YouTube channel distinguish itself from the competition?

Volume Counts

Many factors lead to YouTube success (or failure), but one YouTube marketing tactic is more important than all the rest. It’s volume.

It’s also the simplest strategy to put in action, yet so many YouTube entrepreneurs, vloggers, and marketers don’t do it because it requires consistency and patience. Before moving forward with a YouTube marketing campaign, evaluate your commitment to the project.

Are you willing to commit the necessary time to creating videos consistently?

Will you continue to create videos when initial results might not validate the time spent?

Do you have enough content to post consistently? (Hint: yes, but more on that later)

In addition to demonstrating your willingness to help after the sale, a how-to video gives your product’s most enthusiastic supporter (you) the opportunity to demonstrate the product. Enthusiasm sells.

A well-produced how-to video makes you a likeable expert in the industry, sends a positive message to potential customers, and provides enormous value to your target audience.

In order to produce a good how-to/tutorial video, follow these steps:

Find out precisely what your customers need or want to know. The purpose of the video is to solve a problem.

Create a detailed script. Explaining how to do something requires specific and clear instructions.

Capture the viewer’s attention. There are over a billion videos on YouTube. If you want a viewer to stick around, give them a reason as soon as possible.

Keep things simple. Do not overwhelm viewers with overly complicated explanations. Stick to the basic features and offer additional videos for more detail, if necessary.

Provide a call-to-action. An individual just watched an entire video, a video that helped them solve a problem. Now what? Invite them to subscribe, to visit your site, to watch another video, to do something, anything that brings them closer to becoming a customer.

If you’re looking for an example, check out this tutorial on how to blow out curly hair. It solves a specific problem. It’s simple and detailed. It provides value by showing viewers with curly hair how to save money. And it’s short. There is also a subscribe call-to-action at the end, but chances are those who find value in the video would click to the creator’s website to learn about their products.

2. Promotional Videos

Before TV remotes, digital recorders, and online video consumption, Corporations and advertisers forced humans to sit through 2-3 minutes of promotional videos once or twice while enjoying their favorite TV shows. They were called commercials. And they were very annoying.

If your promotional video on YouTube is done poorly, people won’t hate you for interrupting their favorite show. They’ll do something worse: They’ll ignore you.

To help you avoid being ignored, learn what characteristics make a good promotional video:

Movement. Talking Heads is a moderately successful band from the 80s and a horrible way to create successful promo videos.

Curiosity. Make viewers curious by posing a question or presenting a problem that needs solved.

Offer. Entice viewers by giving them a special offer, one they get because they’re taking the time to watch your video.

A Shared Enemy. It’s time to take a stand against faceless corporations that don’t want you to succeed on YouTube. OK, we just created a shared enemy.

Value. Just in case you forgot, the purpose of any marketing video is to provide value for your target audience.

Call to Action. Somebody just spent 2-4 minutes watching you promote a product or service. They’re ready to take action.

Memorable Tagline. They’ll think about you when it’s time to buy.

Blendtec’s “Will it Blend” campaign has become the most successful promotional video series on YouTube. This example incorporates all the aspects of a great promotional video.

3. Product Reviews

One of the primary purposes and challenges of marketing on YouTube or any digital platform is building an audience that trusts you. Product reviews can help you establish trust and keep viewer trust once it’s been established.

If you already have an audience that trusts you, you can do them a favor by reviewing a related product, so they don’t have to do the work.

Do not review competitor products. You’ll either drive business to your competitor or look petty.

The product should appeal to your target audience without conflicting with your business. If your website, for example, teaches how to cook healthy meals, your target audience might be interested in exercise videos. So review some and gain the trust of your audience.

Being helpful is good. So be helpful. Keep in mind that when you do a product review, you are making a promise with your audience that your review is 100% honest.

In this example, Pete and Pedro, creators of a line of hair products, review a man grooming subscription service. Those interested in the service would naturally be interested in Pete and Pedro’s products and vice versa.

4. Testimonials

Social proof helps sell products. If you’re consistently producing valuable content on your blog and on social media, you probably already have testimonials from satisfied customers. Getting testimonials on video, however, presents a challenge.

The most effective testimonial video includes actual customers telling your audience good things about your product. If the company is big enough, think about coaxing testimonials from customers at trade shows or other venues where users of your product might gather. You could also hold a contest, like this one from Coca Cola, that asks users to create testimonials.

If getting actual customers in front of the camera is not possible, find a way to creatively incorporate customer testimonials into a video via graphics or animation. The comments section of your blog or an email broadcasts soliciting testimonials is an effective way to get quotable testimonials.

Use the following question ideas to elicit responses from satisfied customers.

Joanne is a digital marketing and social media consultant, trainer and international speaker. She is currently working on her second social media book and holds 11 professional and academic qualifications, including a Masters Degree in Journalism and a Masters Degree in Digital Marketing. Joanne loves to empower her clients with knowledge and skills to equip them in the digital age. Be sure to follow her tweets @tweetsbyJSB.